Sunday, January 27, 2013

Did Harper Give China a Toehold to Canada's Arctic Resources?

You didn't hear much Chinese spoken on the Mackenzie River until the
summer of 1999. But then excitement swept through the sleepy Tuktoyaktuk
settlement in Canada's Northwest Territories, when a vast ship with a
crew from the Asia-Pacific unexpectedly docked in the port. Local
authorities were caught off-guard by the arrival of the research
icebreaker Xue Long, which means "snow dragon." The vessel -- 170
meters (550 feet) long and weighing 21,000 metric tons -- had in fact
informed faraway Ottawa of its intention to sail into Canada's arctic
waters, but the message hadn't been passed on.

Today, such an incident probably wouldn't happen. States around the
North Pole keep careful and regular watch on visitors from China. Its
"growing interest in the region raises concern -- even alarm -- in the
international community," the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SIPRI) recently wrote. And this despite the fact that "the
Arctic is not a foreign policy priority" for Beijing.The equation seems simple. China is hungry for natural resources, and
the Arctic is rich in natural resources. What could be more
straightforward? But Beijing insists that its interest in the region is
first and foremost for research purposes, that the Arctic can help shed
light on climate change, that it offers useful shipping routes, and so
on and so forth.Indeed, for now, the Chinese government has no official Arctic
strategy. And it doesn't say much at all about natural resources in the
region, especially because the economic superpower can -- for the time
being, at least -- get what it needs elsewhere, such as in Africa.

Interestingly enough, the Spiegel article suggests the recent, Harper-approved Chinese state takeover of Nexen was also about China acquiring a toehold on Arctic seabed resources.Even though China is trying to avoid being overbearing, it can't hide
its growing interest in the region. "They are extremely careful about
what message they send," says Leiv Lunde, director of the Fridtjof
Nansen Institute, and independent foundation concerned with
environmental, energy and resource-management policies based in Lysaker,
Norway. Lunde recently returned from a trip to China, where he had
delivered a 90-minute speech at the Beijing Energy Club. Afterwards, he
spent over two hours fielding questions from government officials,
researchers and executives from raw-material companies. Still, Lunde believes that Chinese companies have understood that
although oil and gas from the Arctic could make a long-term contribution
to the country's energy supply, it won't come cheap. China will have to
"play by the rules of capitalism," Lunde says. Right now, for example,
the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) wants to acquire its
Canadian competitor Nexen, but the deal first has to be approved by US
authorities.

And, just in case you think this is idle speculation, ask yourself why China already operates the largest, non-nuclear icebreaker in the world, this one: